American Civil War Reconstruction - Scalawags and Carpetbaggers

Two new nicknames that came out
of the Reconstruction period were Carpetbaggers and Scalawags.

Carpetbaggers was the name given by
Southerners to white Northern politicians and businessmen who flooded the South
in search of riches. They were called carpetbaggers because they brought with
them their clothes and personal belongings in a carpetbag or suitcase. Many were
ruthless and unscrupulous, looting and stealing from the South and putting this
wealthy into their own pockets.

Scalawags were white Southern
politicians who joined the Republican party after the war. Many scalawags were
sincere in their belief that obeying the Reconstruction Act issued by Congress
was the quickest way to recovery. But some scalawags were not sincere. Some
joined the ruthless and unscrupulous Northern carpetbaggers, stealing and
looting. Any scalawag who supported military rule to enforce African American
suffrage and equality could become the target of the newly formed Ku Klux Klan.